The Antidote
by Katharin the Dragon
Summary: Hermione Granger has been bitten by the Manticore, for whose venom there is no antidote. Snape believes that he may be able to save her...
1. In the Hospital Wing

**The Antidote**

  
  


Author's Note - If this story seems a little strange or OOC, it is because it is the fleshing out of an actual dream that I had last night. Feel free to comment or criticize, I am always striving to be a better writer. Love to you all.

_Part One - In the Hospital Wing_  


"There is no antidote, Mr. Granger. I'm so sorry." Madame Pomfrey was standing over Hermione's sickbed, explaining the situation to her father.

Albus Dumbledore was standing to the side, silent. His face was drawn and pale. It was as though the stakes had suddenly been raised. He had been so proud to not lose a student yet in this war. There were muggles who had died, and grown wizards who knew what they were facing, and Albus wept for all of them, but he had not lost a student, and he was determined not to.

"What- what happened exactly?" Mr. Granger asked as though dazed.

"Your daughter," Dumbledore responded, "Was bitten by the Manticore. The beast has since been killed - by one of her best friends, no less. She is well-loved here-"

"What the hell is a manticore? Why was it here?"

Madame Pomfrey stiffened at Mr. Granger's outburst and seemed ready , but Dumbledore cut her off with a look of quiet strength. She deferred.

"The Manticore was not here," Dumble continued gently. "Hermione and her friends sought it out. It was wreaking havoc on a small muggle town. Many were killed by it's bite. They dealt with it admirably-"

"Do you always send children to do the work of men?" Mr. Granger cut in coldly.

Dumbledore looked truly saddened at Mr. Granger's words. "Mr. Granger, I know you may not believe me, but we did not send them out to the Manticore. As you know, there is a war going on in the wizarding community-"

"I don't care about your little wizard war, I really don't. I just want my daughter back. If she dies, I'll - I don't know what I'll do. I'll take legal action on your school, I assure you. You'll - you'll be sorry."

He kissed his sleeping daughter on the head. "I'm sorry, Mione. I wish I could stay. Your mother's in the hospital, too," he was trying not to cry. "I have to be with her now. These - people won't let you leave. They-" he sighed. "I'll be back as soon as I know your motherand the baby are all right. I love you, bookworm."

He stormed out of the hospital wing.

Dumbledore followed his exit with sad eyes. "She's not going to make it, is she?" He asked Madame Pomfrey.

She hesistated, then shook her head.

"You've given up, then?" the voice came out of the shadows.

Dumbledore started. "Severus, I had no idea you were still here."

Profesor Severus Snape almost smiled - almost. "I've been here for quite some time, Albus. Long enough to know that someone from the ministry is going to have to be dispatched to follow Mr. Granger for a while."

Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively. "He's no threat to us, Severus. I doubt it will come to that. If she dies... well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. It seems inhumane to erase the memory of a child, though..."

"Have you given up, then?" Snape asked, more insistently.

"It's not that we've given up, Severus. It's just... I don't know what else to do." Madame Pomfrey looked truly frustrated.

"Ah, so... you haven't given up, but you are _desperate_."

She frowned. "Stop speaking in riddles, man, and speak your mind."

"Give her to me."

Neither Madame Pomfrey, nor Professor Dumbledore said a word, but they looked at him in surprise. "Do you know an antidote that we are not aware of, Severus?" Dumbledore asked at last.

"Not exactly... but I think I can save her. We all know there is no antidote for the venom of the Manticore. But I have been doing some research-" his eyes were lit up with energy, yet he seemed as though he were strongly in need of a good night's sleep. He paused and took a deep breath.

"Some have survived. Almost inexplicably. One survived out in the wilderness with absolutely no medical attention. It seems it requires only a strength of will to stay alive long enough to allow the body to flush the venom... I have a potion that I think will help, but she will need constant surveillance."

"Bring it here to me, Severus, and I-"

"No. I would need to administer it myself. The dosage is subtle. She will require constant attention. Please-"

"Professor Dumbledore, surely you will not allow-" Madame Pomfrey began.

"Albus, hear me out. I can save her. I can't guarantee the results if someone else tries. I know that you want even less than I do to lose a student. We can't afford to lose the support of the Grangers, or any other muggles. I-" he hesitated and look directly into Dumbledore's eyes, "I think I can save her."

Professor Dumbledore sat in silence for a long time. Finally he nodded slowly. "Try it, Severus. We are counting on you."

"Professor Dumbledore, surely you will not allow this. The place for a sick student is in my hospital wing."

Professor Dumbledore drew her to one side and spoke softly. "Madame Pomfrey. I beg your forgiveness. You are busy. Look around you. Already you are saving the lives of dozens. Let Severus do this one thing for us. It will give you a break, you are tired."

She sighed heavily. "Do you really trust him this much? He has never shown much love for a student before this."

"I trust him."

She nodded slightly. "And I trust you, Professor Dumbledore."


	2. In Snape's Chambers

**The Antidote**

  
  
_Part Two - In Snape's Chambers_  


Hermione felt herself supported by her father's arms. It was strange, her father had never smelled so nice before - a spicy blend of orange peel and rosemary. He was carrying her off somewhere - to her room, she supposed. She must have done something very wrong, as he hadn't sent her to her room since she was small.

"Don't stay mad at me," she muttered. "Please, I don't even know what I did wrong."

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you," a low voice whispered back. "Just relax..."

She was laid down in a bed that felt softer than her own bed. She hadn't realized how cold she was until the heavy comforter was tucked around her body. She sighed softly, not quite ready to open her eyes.

"I need you to drink this so you can feel better," the voiced whispered softly. A cold vessel was lifted to her lips. She let the warm liquid slide down her throat. It was bitter, and she coughed it back up. It spilled all over her chin, and on the comforter, as well. "I'm sorry," she muttered remorsefully.

"Don't be sorry. I need you to drink this for me, please. Can we try again? It's not going to taste good."

She tried again, and was able to stomach the vile liquid. She felt a warm cloth wipe the excess from her chin. She drifted back into sleep.

Severus Snape nodded in satisfaction as she drifted back into sleep. She seemed to think he was her father, a convenient misconception that might make his job easier. Knowing Hermione Grangers's craving for teacher affirmation, he suspected she was a "daddy's girl", as well. She was certainly a great deal more docile under the influence of the venom than she usually was, he reflected almost fondly.

There was an uncertain knock at the door. He stood straight up and back away from the bed. The mild expression vanished from his face. He strode over to the door and opened it swiftly, glaring out into the darkness of the dungeon.

Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. What a surprise. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised - the trio was inseperable and cared for each other more than was usual in young people their age. What did surprise him was that they had managed to find his private chambers so quickly.

"What in the blazes are you doing in my private chambers?" he asked hotly.

For once, they actually looked cowed by his presence. He suspected they were rather shaken up by Hermione's illness, and almost felt guilty for berating them. _There's no excuse for being somewhere that students are not allowed,_ he reminded himself. _Everyone else may coddle them, but I will not. Not even..._

"Well?" he demanded.

It was Ron who spoke at last. He glanced around hesitantly. "Is Hermione really here?" he asked.

"How did you know?"

"Professor Dumbledore told us you were looking after her," Harry responded.

"We wanted to make sure she was okay," Ron added.

Professor Snape frowned. "Mr. Weasley, your friend is not "okay". She was bitten by the Manticore. There is no known antidote for her wound."

"If there's no known antidote, then why is she with you? Shouldn't she be with her parents, or with Madame Pomfrey, if there's no cure?" There were tears in the emerald eyes that addressed him more boldly than they ever had before.

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore explain to you why she was with me?" he asked, more curious than he wanted to let on.

"No, he only said that you were the right person to care for her right now," sneered Ron.

Professor Snape looked away. "And so I am."

Harry placed his had on Ron's shoulder comfortingly. "Um, professor, can we see her, please?"

"She's in a very delicate condition right now, Mr. Potter." He sighed reflectively. "But... I will allow you to see her, on one condition."

They waited.

"You must not call me by name."

Harry and Ron exchanged bewildered glances. "All right," Ron said.

He felt a strange trepidation leading them into his bedchambers. They looked around in wonderment. Their eyes raked over his black-finished bed and dresser with the clawed feet, the tall black bookcases completely filled with books, and the crimson, octagonal tiles underneath their feet. _No doubt,_ he thought crankily, _memorizing every detail to go back and tell their Gryffindor friends._

They drew near to the bed, and he reprimanded himself when he saw their faces. _That, Severus, is their best friend, lying near death in your bed. You'd do well to remember that._

He almost smiled when Ron leaned over the bed and kissed Hermione's cheek. Almost.

"Can I ask a question Professor Sn- er, sir?" Harry asked.

Snape nodded.

"What exactly are you trying to do for her, sir?"

"I hardly think that's your business, Mr. Potter."

"It _bloody_ well is," Ron said angrily, balling his hand into a fist. "It's our fault she got hurt in the first place. If she d... if she..."

"I'm not going to let her die, Mr. Weasley," the professor whispered .

Harry met eyes with him. There was a strange intensity in the man's black eyes - also an unaccountable exhaustion. "Promise?" Harry asked.

Severus Snape frowned. "I promise."


	3. What Daddy Would Be Like

**The Antidote**

  
  
_Part Three - What Daddy Would Be Like_  


Harry and Ron were leaving. Finally. It was unnerving to have them there, in his chambers, in his _sanctum santorum_, as it were. They were loud-ish and clumsy. Ron had already succeeded in nearly knocking the potion he had labored so long on onto the crimson-tiled floor. Harry was calmer, but his offensively emerald eyes were roving over everything.

Having Hermione there, sleeping in his bed, was somehow different. At her worst, she was obnoxious and loud, but at her best she had an insatiable curiousity that he recognized in himself, and an admirable intensity. Now, her features smoothed and calmed by sleep, she had an appealing innocence that almost made him wish he had a daughter of his own, or even a wife. He winced and turned away from that thought as quickly as it splashed across his mind. The implications were too much.

He turned to the retreating figures of Potter and Weasley. "Wait!" he called softly after them. Harry turned around first.

"Professor?"

"Come in for one more moment."

The boys filed in. Harry looked curious, but Ron looked defiant. His eyes were open wide, and red, as though trying not to cry. He looked them over critically for a full minute before speaking.

"What is Hermione's father like?" he asked at last.

Ron's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Sir?"

Sevreus Snape frowned. "I don't think I stuttered, Mr. Potter. What is Hermione's father like? More to the point, what is he like to Hermione? Is he cross? Is he jolly - you know, the Father Christmas type? I know what he looks like, and I know that he loves her fiercly," as he said so, he scowled as though the thought were distasteful to him, "but how does he treat her?"

As soon as the words were outof his mouth, he regretted speaking them. They stood a moment in silence as her glared down at them. They seemed reasonably baffled by the question - why should the hated snake-like professor care how Hermione's father treated her? The Weasley boy eyed him with a glimmer of suspicion.

Severus Snape sighed softly and suddenly felt very old. "Never mind. Go away."

Again the blak stare.

"Get out of my chambers or I shall deduct 50 points from Gryffindor for trespassing, so help me-"

They took the hint.

* * *

Her eyes were open. It hurt for them to be open. It was only a flickering candlelight, but it hit her like a floodlight. Her eyes teared up. She tried to sit up, but it hurt. She tried to pull the crimson colored comforter closer around her, but that hurt, too.

It was only then that she began to wonder where she was. She remembered a battle and a great deal of pain. The Manticore, she remembered with a great deal of effort. She remembered being lifted by magic into the Hospital wing. She remembered - she remembered her father! Her father had been here, for sure. She remembered being lifted up and carried, and tucked into bed. Surely that, also, had been her father. The thought was reassuring. She drifted back into sleep.

She woke up again, what seemed like hours later. There was a nasty taste in her mouth, metallic and tangy, and there was a dull, pounding ache in her head. Her eyes seemed to be glued shut.

It took slightly less effort for her to get them open again. She was definitely not in the hospital wing. She was in a large bed in a round room. She had never seen a round room in Hogwarts before - was she still in Hogwarts, even? The comforter that she was underneath was thick and heavy, and covered in dark red silk. The only other thing she could see was the floor. It was a beautiful red and black tile floor. They were crimson octagons - like the hue of blood, but a shade darker - and matte black squares in between. 

The pieces didn't fit. She was not at home, and she was not at Hogwarts, but where else would she be? Somewhere in the village, perhaps? Wherever she was, her father was here, too, and that was enough.

As she drifted into sleep again, she felt him stroke her cheek protectively. It made her smile.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore knocked gently at the door.

"Come in, Albus."

Dumbledore stepped into his friend's bedchamber. He smiled in mild surprise. "Beautiful, Severus, I had no idea you were such a tasteful decorator."

Snape held back a chuckle. "Why, thank you Albus. I doubt you came down here to discuss interior design."

"How is she?"

"Come and see."

Hermione's face was ashen and sunken in. Her thick hair was plastered to her head. Her forehead was dotted with little beads of perspiration. But-

"She's alive," Dumbledore said. Relief was obvious in his tone.

"I believe she would be dead already under Madame Pomfrey's care," Snape said stiffly. "She was terribly feverish whe I took her, and the wound was festering."

"May I see the wound?"

Snape nodded briefly.

The wound was on her calf. The Manticore has a enormous jaw, so that his mouth appears to be half the size of his head, and he has rows of terrible teeth. A large chunk of the flesh of her leg was torn away.

"No infection. That's good."

Snape nodded again. "You see the discoloration around the wound? That's caused by the venom. It spreads very slowly, discoloring the skin as it travels through the bloodstream. I have not been able to stop it from spreading yet, but I have slowed it down." He paused. "I think."

"May I?"

"Certainly, Albus."

Dumbledore drew a small crystal vial from underneath his robes. He withdrew the stopper and emptied it's contents onto the wound. There was some visible healing of the tissue, but the discoloration remained.

"Thank you, Albus. I don't exactly have a steady supply of phonix tears."

"I know you said that her body needs to survive long enough to flush out the venom. Perhaps a lessening of the burden..."

Snape nodded. "I appreciate it, my friend."

"I'm sure you've applied a few healing potions of your own, but there's nothing like a vial of phoenix tears," he said thoughtfully.

Snape laughed mirthlessly, thoughtfully. "The venom counteracts some of my favorite healing potions. It's rather disheartening."

Dumbledore nodded. "Madame Pomfrey ran into the same problem."

Hermione stirred, arching her neck and whimpering. "Daddy," she whispered painfully.

Severus reached his hand out to her head, steadying her gently. "Stay still," he whispered. "Sleep."

An indiscernible look passed briefly across Dumbledore's face.

Severus stiffened. "She... thinks I am her father," he offered by way of explanation. "She calls for him, and I have been trying to..." he winced, "...comfort her. The sense of security may aid in the healing process."

"Ah," said the great headmaster with a barely concealed smile.

Severus growled lightly in response. Dumbledore only chuckled and shook his head.

The headmaster rose to leave. "Poppy will be pleased to hear that her patient progresses. Can I get you anything, Severus, when I come back again?"

Snape shook his head. "No. Thank you. I will send fora house elf if I become hungry."

The two exchanged knowing looks. Finally Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Good luck, my friend."

"Wait."

Dumbledore paused, waiting.

"What..." Severus growled again, this time in frustration at himself. "What _is_ her father like?"

The headmaster nodded. "He is not a gentle man, Severus. Rarely sparing with his compliments. He expects the best of himself and has taught her to do the same. He has taught her to not tolerate a crack of imperfection or a word of untruth-"

"All this, in a muggle dentist," Severus muttered sarcastically.

"She can count the compliments he has given her on two hands, yet she remembers every single one-"

"Even so, he loves her very much, I gather," the potions master mused.

Dumbledore seemed not to have heard him, for he continued, "Truly, Severus, he is a lot like you."


End file.
